The windows xp Video Decoder Checkup Utility helps you determine if an MPEG-2 video decoder (also called a DVD decoder) is installed on your windows xp computer and whether or not the decoder is compatible with windows media Player 10 and windows xp media center Edition.

An MPEG-2 decoder is software that allows you to play DVDs and files that contain video content that was encoded in the MPEG-2 format (such as DVR-MS files, MPG files, and some AVI files).

If you encounter a problem while using windows media Player 10 to play a DVD or to synchronize (copy) recorded TV shows to a Portable media center or other device, use this utility to verify that you have a compatible MPEG-2 decoder installed on your computer.

Features:

· Lists all the MPEG-2 video decoders that appear in your windows registry (a database that contains information about the hardware and software installed in your computer).
· Indicates whether each decoder listed in the registry is marked as compatible with windows xp media center edition and whether any decoder listed in the registry is marked as the preferred video decoder.
· Indicates whether each decoder listed in the registry is marked as compatible with the synchronization feature of windows media Player 10.
· Lets you designate which installed decoder that you want windows media Player 10 to use when synchronizing DVR-MS files to a portable device. This is known as the preferred video decoder.
· Lets you undo any changes the utility makes to your windows registry.

dCut is an application written for Microsoft windows xp media center edition (MCE).

dCut was written to make it easier to compress and cut the DVR-MS files which are created by MCE.

The windows media 9 Series Codec Install Package is used to install the latest windows media codecs. This package can be used as an alternative to automatically downloading windows media Codecs, or to correct problems experienced with previously-downloaded codecs.

This component can be installed on the following operating systems:

windows xp Professional/Home/Media center edition
windows 2000 with media Player 7.0 or later
windows Millenium edition
windows 98 Second edition with media Player 7.0 or later

windows media center SDK description
windows media center SDK - Documentation, tools and sample code for developing windows media center applications and services The windows media center Software Development Kit was designed to help developers easily create applications and software components that will take advantage of features provided by Microsoft windows media Center.

This release includes documentation, tools, sample code and Visual Studio 2005 project templates for the following windows media center platform models:
· windows media center Presentation Layer Application (Local, Background and Web)
· Hosted .NET Framework 3.0 eXtensible Application Markup Language Browser Application (XBAP)
· Hosted HTML

Powered by windows media Center, media center PCs are complete windows machines enhanced for home entertainment. These computers represent the evolution of home PCs into digital media hubs that bring together your entertainment choices and allow you to access them with one remote control in multiple rooms of your home.

The windows media center platform enables you to create rich media applications and services for use with mouse, keyboard, and remote control.

This section contains programmability documentation, sample programs, and templates; windows media center application user interface guidelines; and other resources for software development on the windows media center platform.

TVedia description
TVedia is a software that turns your ordinary PC into a feature packed media center Welcome to the world of digital media center! TVedia is the next generation networked media center PC software. TVedia is a software that turns your ordinary PC into a feature packed media center with stunning graphics and powerful media library management functions.

Using TVedia, you can access content on digital media server; you can play online photo slideshow on Flickr, stream online radio from Live365, or stream online video from YouTube, Google Video, or Metacafe. Not even Microsofts windows media center edition can do this, not to mention that you dont need to purchase a new media center PC.

Here are some key features of "TVedia":

· Flash like 10-ft media center user interface without special hardware requirement.
· Managing large media center collection with ease.
· First networked media center in the market.
· First media center software that supports both windows media DRM and iTunes Music Store purchased music.
· Portal to online digital content on your media center PC.
· Open source media center front-end, giving do-it-yourself media center PC enthusiasts complete control.


Requirements:

· Internet Explorer 6, DirectX 9 drivers


Limitations:

· 15 days trial

ActiveSync description
Microsoft ActiveSync - Latest synchronization software for windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones ActiveSync, the latest sync software release for windows Mobile-based devices, provides a great synchronization experience with Windows-based computers and Microsoft Outlook right out of the box.

ActiveSync acts as the gateway between your Windows-based PC and windows Mobile-based device, enabling the transfer of Outlook information, Office documents, pictures, music, videos and applications to and from your device.

In addition to synchronizing with a desktop PC, ActiveSync can synchronize directly with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 so that you can keep your e-mail, calendar data, tasks and contact information updated wirelessly when you’re away from your PC.

Requirements:

· Supported Operating Systems: windows 2000 Service Pack 4; windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 for Itanium-based Systems; windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition; windows xp media center Edition; windows xp Professional x64 edition ; windows xp Service Pack 1; windows xp Service Pack 2; windows xp Tablet PC edition
· Microsoft Outlook 2000, Microsoft Outlook XP, or Microsoft Outlook 2003 messaging and collaboration clients required for synchronization to the desktop or portable computer of e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes. (Outlook 2003 is recommended)
· Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office xp or Microsoft Office 2003
· Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later (required)
· Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0


The following mobile device operating systems are supported by ActiveSync:
· Microsoft windows Mobile 5.0
· Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Microsoft windows Mobile 5.0
· Microsoft windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
· Microsoft windows Mobile 2003
· Microsoft Pocket PC 2002, Microsoft windows CE OS version 3.0
· Microsoft Smartphone 2002, Microsoft windows CE OS version 3.0

TVTonic description
TVTonic allows you to subscribe to most video podcasts on the web TVTonic will allow users to subscribe to most video podcasts on the Internet.

It’s easy to subscribe to video podcasts (in TVTonic theyre called channels) via the built-in guide in the Add Channels section of TVTonic. Plus, any RSS 2.0 video feed from the web is compatible with TVTonic.

You also get exclusive access to premium channels available only to TVTonic users—all free.

Video can take up a lot of disk space, with TVTonic you control how much space each channel uses via a simple graph and slider interface.

TVTonic works great within windows xp media center Edition. Once TVTonic is installed, just select it from the More Programs menu within MCE. Don’t have windows xp media Center? No problem. To watch TVTonic within Internet Explorer 6 or later, just go to www.tvtonic.com/watch once TVTonic is installed.

Watch TVTonic whether you’re on-line or off. By storing media on your computer’s hard drive, TVTonic enables immediate playback of full-screen video even when you’re not on-line. You need to be connected to the Internet to receive new content and subscribe to new channels.

Requirements:

· Broadband Internet connection (cable, DSL or similiar) required
· windows xp or higher (Windows media center edition 2005 is recommended)
· Pentium III, 700MHz processor (1GHz recommended).
· 256 MB RAM
· Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (Internet Explorer 7 beta not currently supported)
· windows media Player 10 recommended (Windows media Player 9 required) download here.
· QuickTime 7 is required for QuickTime video playback (download here)
· Minimum of 1GB of free hard drive space is recommended (in order to store media files)

Update Rollup for windows xp media center edition description
Install this update to resolve video issues in windows xp media center 2005 January 2006 Update Rollup for windows xp media center edition 2005 - Install this update to resolve video issues in windows xp media center 2005.

This update rollup addresses issues with suspend/resume , video freezes and black screens on machines with Update Rollup 2 for windows xp media center edition 2005 installed.

After you install January 2006 Update Rollup for windows xp media center edition 2005, you may have to restart your PC.

Requirements:

· Microsoft windows xp media center edition 2005
· Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft windows xp media center edition 2005

Update Rollup for windows xp media center edition 2005 description
Update Rollup 2 for windows xp media center edition 2005 contains new features, functionality and improvements Update Rollup 2 for windows xp media center edition 2005 contains new features, functionality and improvements, including:
· The ability to connect windows xp media center edition 2005 to Xbox 360 to stream music, photos, recorded TV and video
· Support for DVD changers
· Improved DVD burning capabilities
· Stability and quality improvements

This update is highly recommended for all windows xp media center edition 2005 customers.